Tuesday, July 10, 2007

Sharks Unveiling New Logo July 24!

The San Jose Sharks will be next to unveil a new — or rather, "updated" — logo for the new season. The news was posted on their web site today. The official unveiling will take place two weeks from today on July 24. Of course I'll have full coverage as usual. Read the press release below.

July 10, 2007

New Look Of Sharks Territory Coming July 24

When the Sharks take the ice for the 2007-08 campaign, they will be doing so with a different look, and not just with regards to the players. There are few details publicly available, but the one certainty is the Sharks logo will have a more updated feel this fall. There will also be new secondary marks introduced.

“I think people are going to like it,” said defenseman Kyle McLaren, one of several Sharks who had input on the updated design. “I think they’ll embrace the change. It goes with the new NHL.”

The Sharks did not take altering their brand lightly, as the main logo has been one of the most popular in professional sports since the club’s inception in 1991.

“We put a lot of research into this and feel the fans will thoroughly appreciate the updated logo and new marks,” said Sharks President and Chief Executive Officer Greg Jamison. “The players were heavily involved in the process and they were extremely happy with the outcome.”

Fans will have their first opportunity to view the new look and secondary marks on July 24 at 10 a.m. PST on sjsharks.com and merchandise with the updated logo and new marks at the Sharks Store will be available starting on that date as well.

While the logo will be released this month, the new-look jerseys will not be previewed until closer to training camp. All NHL jerseys will be altered to some degree this year as Reebok introduces new fabrics to help enhance player skills.

The Sharks primary mark has not changed throughout the Sharks 16-year history, but the jersey has been altered on several occasions. San Jose ’s original jersey was introduced in 1991 and the most recent incarnation was put in place in 1998, although it served as an alternate jersey the prior campaign. The alternate black jersey debuted in 2001.

I'm looking forward to it. The current Sharks logo will live on as a classic but lacks enough color to be considered a great logo by today's standards. Or so happens to be the opinion of one blog writer. Yes, me.

Now as for the tournament, the Sharks play their 12th match on July 23, the day before the unveiling. Regardless of whether a leak happens, the logo won't take effect in the competition until the day after its official unveiling which is July 24. That said, the Sharks have only two matches after July 25 — both on the last two days of the tournament, August 9 and 10. The new logo will be used for those two matches and the Championship Tournament should the Sharks advance.

Tournament Analysis: Four Weeks

We're now just about halfway through the competition so its time to take another look at where things stand. Remember, each team plays 14 matches, teams with 7 are of course midway through the tournament.

The Midpoint Leaders

First and foremost, are the Hurricanes. They've been wiping the floor with everyone, having swept 75% of their 8 matches to date. Obviously, they lead the league with 22 points. Coming in a somewhat distant second are the Predators with 17 points in 9 matches. Behind them are the Avalanche with 16 points in 6 matches, so they still have a long way to go and could be a dominant force in the West. The Flames and Canadiens 15 points in 7 and 8 matches, respectively. The Panthers and Sharks each have 13 points in 6 and 8 matches, respectively.

If The Playoffs Were Tomorrow...
Here at the halfway point of the tournament, it's still too early to tell who will make it to the Championship Tournament. But that doesn't mean we can't talk about it anyway. If you need a refresher on how to determine who moves on to the next tournament, read this.

EAST

At present, the Flyers and Devils are at the top of the Atlantic Division. The Rangers are a point behind the Devils but the Devils have four games at hand. The Canadiens and Senators lead the Northeast and the Hurricanes and Panthers top the Southeast. As for the wild card spot, there's a three-way tie. Rangers, Thrashers and Capitals each have 10 points. However, the Capitals have the tie breaker. And if the playoffs started tomorrow, the following teams would move on from the Eastern Conference: the Flyers, Devils, Canadiens, Senators, Hurricanes, Panthers, and Capitals.

WEST

The Predators and Blues still lead the Central Division two weeks after the last time we checked in. High atop the Northwest are the Flames and Avalanche. And leading the Pacific Division are the Sharks and Stars. At this point the Wild take wild card spot with 11 points. So if the playoffs began tomorrow, the following Western Conference teams would be eligible: the Predators, Blues, Avalanche, Flames, Sharks, Stars and Wild.

But once again, we're only halfway through this competition. This is a marathon tournament and there is still a long way to go. So if your team hasn't made a good showing yet, there's still plenty of time...

The Baddest Of The Bad

...unless they just have a really bad logo. This tournament awards points to teams even when they lose a match. If you lose 2-1, you still get that one point. But if you lose 3-0, you obviously get no points. The Ducks still have the league's worst logo, having earned no points in 6 matches to date. The Penguins aren't doing much better sitting with 1 point in only 4 matches. They still have a lot of matches ahead of them. The Maple Leafs have 5 points in 7 matches while the Bruins have 6 points in 4 matches. Those guys are pretty much bottom of the barrel at this point.

Averaging Well

Another element worth looking at here halfway through, is points percentage. Since the number of matches played for each team varies from 4 to 10, the straight-up number of points isn't always a good barometer for determining who's doing well. For that, we look at their points percentage, which is the number of points they've earned out of the points available to them. Each match is worth 3 points so a team that's played 5 matches has had the opportunity to earn 15 points. But nobody's perfect.

Despite an 11-point difference between them, the Hurricanes and Wild both have a .917 and, of course, no losses yet in the tourney. The Avalanche are .889 and the Devils are .733 a this point. Rounding out the top 5 is the Panthers with a .722 percentage.

Undefeated

Some teams are doing rather impressive right now. Logos with absolutely no losses here at the competition's halfway point are the Hurricanes, Wild, Avalanche and Flames. Is it weird they all have a shade of red as their primary color?

Winless

And some teams are doing the opposite of impressive right now. Logos with absolutely no wins at the halfway point are the Ducks and Penguins. Hopefully there's light at the end of the tunnel for these guys. I'd hate to see anyone go the entire length of the tournament without a single win to show for it.

Midway Summary
It's looking like the Northwest Division will probably be the top division in the tournament. Three of its five teams have yet to lose a match. I'm also impressed with the Hurricanes' performance. They've surprised me, actually, just like when they won the Stanley Cup in 2006. It'll be interesting to see when/if they ever lose match. They've been unstoppable so far. But I'd be surprised to see any team finish with no losses, or no wins for that matter. I don't think any of the logos stand out quite that much. But we'll just have to see.

So here we are. Just another month to go before the Championship Tournament. Can you feel the excitement? No? The average number of visitors to the blog has dropped to around 60 a day. I'm not surprised, though. No one's really that interested in this drivel of mine, but for those of you who are reading, I appreciate it and I hope you're getting some kind of enjoyment out of it.

What's Left?
Well technically, the tourney is half-over (a dead horse I've been beating for the better part of this post), but only six teams have actually played exactly half of their schedule (7 of 14 matches). Those teams are the Flames, Canucks, Blackhawks, Red Wings, Kings and Maple Leafs. So obviously some teams have more and some have less. The Flyers have already played 10 matches leaving only 4 to go while the Wild, Bruins and Penguins have each played only 4 therefore having 10 remaining. So it will be interesting to see how everything turns out. Keep reading and comment whenever you feel like it.

Red Wings vs Canucks


vs
RED WINGS
CANUCKS
1-5
2-4


The Aesthetics
Both logos are a little heavy on the detail but with the Canucks, it doesn't seem to detract. The extra colors make it look a little busier than the Red Wings logo, but color never hurt anyone.
Canucks

The Nickname
If he was a woodsman, a Canuck would perhaps hunt a Red-Winged bird.
Canucks

The Analysis
This has been the downfall of the Canucks logo throughout this tournament. The team will be getting a new one this summer but not for another three weeks. For those of you who haven't been following along, it's the misplaced whale that's giving me a problem here. A Canuck is not a whale. Anyway, we get a red wing in the Red Wings logo, which is topped off with an old-time wheel to symbolize the Motor City.
Red Wings


WINNER
2-1

 

Hurricanes vs Devils


vs
HURRICANES
DEVILS
7-0
4-0


The Aesthetics
So there's black. There's white. And then of course there's red. Lots of red. It seems to make for unbeatable combination. Neither of these logos has yet to lose a match. Until today that is. For this match, we'll really have to get down to business. The reason I like the Hurricanes logo better than the Devils for this point speaks to the design itself. The Hurricanes logo leaves things to the eye to interpret. There's no thick, black outline telling you where everything is. Do you see what I mean? Or am I talking out of my ass?
Hurricanes

The Nickname
People in New Orleans and along the Gulf Coast probably think a Hurricane is the work of the Devil.
Devils

The Analysis
I'm almost convinced that its ths silver outlining the Hurricanes logo that makes it look so much cooler than the Devils. In the Devils logo, though, its the subtle "NJ" in the form of a devil that makes it cool. But then that puck in the eye of the hurricane. How will any logo ever beat it?
Hurricanes


WINNER
2-1

 

Predators vs Flames


vs
PREDATORS
FLAMES
6-2
6-0


The Aesthetics
It's interesting to see the stronger logos going up against each other in this tournament. The tough part is for me in figuring out which deserves points. Here, the Predators logo outweighs by a very slight margin the Flames for the use of color and sleek design. The Flames have a great logo but I feel like it could be updated somewhat. The Flames on the left side seem unbalanced.
Predators

The Nickname
Funny thing about Flames. They burn everything, even Predators.
Flames

The Analysis
What I do like about the Flames logo is the prominent use of the "C" for Calgary. The Predators logo doesn't really have any elements that represent Music City. While their colors are great and their design is spectacular, it's really the Flames that deserve this point.
Flames


WINNER
2-1